availablepublic592http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/crash-a-tale-of-two-species-introduction/592/1822609979cove592Crash: A Tale of Two SpeciesAirs Sunday, march 20, 2011 at 8:00 p.m. ET. Check your local listings.A story of the interconnection of life: NATURE discovers how the plummeting number of horseshoe crabs affects the red knot, a tiny bird. 3/20/112011-03-20 05:01:00publishdisabledshowfalse14638The Story of Cats | Into the Americas | Preview Discover how cats first crossed from Asia into North America and became the top predators.http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/story-cats-about/14638/2016-11-09 20:00:00http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/files/2016/10/0R5A1106-e1478194923973-480x270.jpg2365870084cove14615NATURE's New Crop See what's coming up in NATURE's 35th Season. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/blog/coming-soon-nature/2016-10-12 20:00:00http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/files/2016/10/mezzanine_571-480x270.jpg2365864873cove

Crash: A Tale of Two Species

About

Premiere date: March 20, 2011 | 0:00:30

With its armored shell, ancient anatomy, and 350-million-year lineage, the horseshoe crab almost seems too inconspicuous to stir up controversy. Yet this humble creature is at the very center of a collision between three completely different species.

For many decades, humans have harvested the horseshoe crab for use as fishing bait. Since the 1970s, we have also used horseshoe crab blood for medical purposes. But we may have gone too far. Horseshoe crab numbers have declined significantly since the early 1990’s. And, naturally, so did their egg numbers.

This is especially important to a small shorebird that is a global traveler of the most impressive kind. The red knot makes one of the longest migrations of any animal — a journey that takes it from one end of the earth to the other. To accomplish this feat, it relies on the eggs of the horseshoe crab. Without these eggs, the red knot is in danger.

In the film Crash: A Tale of Two Species, filmmaker Allison Argo tells the story of nature’s amazing ability to create fragile connections among the most unexpected creatures, and of our potential as humans to destroy those connections — or restore them.

Special Thanks
American Bird Conservancy
Carl N. Shuster, Jr.
Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey
Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife
Delaware State University
Endosafe, Charles River Laboratories
Government of Nunavut, Department of Environment
New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife
New Jersey Natural Lands Trust
University of Delaware
U.S. Geological Survey

For NATURE

Series Editor
JANET HESS

Supervising Producer
JANICE YOUNG

Senior Producer
LAURA METZGER

Producers
JILL CLARKE
IRENE TEJARATCHI

Production Manager
JULIE SCHAPIRO THORMAN

Production Assistant
JAYNE JUN

Manager
EILEEN FRAHER

Re-Recording Mixer
DOUG JOHNSON

Online Editor
DAVID NOLING

Series Producer
BILL MURPHY

Executive In Charge
WILLIAM GRANT

Executive Producer
FRED KAUFMAN

Produced by Argo Films and Thirteen/WNET New York

This program was produced by Thirteen/WNET New York, which is solely responsible for its content.